Red Ribbon
by weedking98
Summary: Kuchiki Rukia is a normal high school girl with a normal life. But there is something missing in her heart and she wants someone to fill that void. She than meets her new substitute teacher Kurosaki Ichigo and her life definitely becomes more interesting. Please read I know it's a crappy summary -.-
1. Chapter 1- Substitute Teacher

Disclaimer: I do not own bleach

AN:This is my first fan fic. It's a Ichi-Ruki novel so be prepared :P

Chapter 1- Substitute Teacher

The sunlight had breached through the chappy the rabbit curtains and a small ray of light had descended upon a small raven- haired girl who was peacefully sleeping.

She fluttered her eyes open and slowly realized that she had just woken up. She got off her bed and headed for the bathroom. She looked at the mirror and was not impressed. Rukia was never a kind of person with vanity in her traits, but she never gave herself enough credit. She quickly brushed her teeth and went down the stairs.

"Good morning Nee- sama!" she said cheerfully with a smile etched across her face.

The man at the other end also bid her a good morning but did not look at her as he was busy preparing breakfast for the both of them.

These two individuals were the last remaining Kuchiki's, a family with a very wealthy past but due to an earthquake that had completely killed their family, but thankfully these two survived and were now living in a comfortable two bed apartment in a good neighbourhood in Karakura.

Rukia sat down on her chair and Byakuya served her eggs and bacon which smelled heavenly, Byakuya took his seat as well with a newspaper in hand and poured himself some no- pulp orange juice.

"Did you sleep well, Rukia?" asked the handsome man.

"Yup. I did Nee-sama" replied Rukia. " I really have to go or I'll be late again!"

"Finish your breakfast first" suggested Byakuya.

The raven-haired girl took the entire piece of bacon and shoved it inside her mouth, hastily took a swig of orange juice and ran for the door. "See ya later Nee-sama!" as she bid him farewell.

"Be careful and don't let your teach…" Byakuya could not finish his sentence as the door slammed loudly behind her. Byakuya's eybrow twitched in annoyance as he said, "That kid will never learn."

The school bell rang and Rukia made it just in time to be greeted by her her friends, well she only had two.

"Good morning Rukia!" said Renji with a grin.

"You're not late this time!" said Tatsuki with a slightly surprised face.

"I'm in a really good mood today! I don't know why." Said Rukia as she took her seat and prepared for her class.

Little did she know that today was the day that she would meet that one person that would change her life forever.

The principal walked inside the classroom. Everyone was taken a back and stood up to greet their principal.

"Please sit down" said the short bald man.

"What does he want? Something must be up." Whispered Tatsuki to Rukia.

"I have an announcement to make children. As you might know your teacher Mrs. Ochi has left the school on maternal leave. So I took it as a challenge to find the best teacher to fill in her big shoes. It didn't take me long but I recruited a college student who is looking for some extra credit."

The class was a little surprised by this but they accepted it.

"A college dude?" Renji thought to himself.

"Don't underestimate him though, he is one of the brightest students in his college and I wish for you children to respect him and welcome him in this class, you may come in Mr. Kurosaki."

The class stared as a tall man with such bright hair it would blind you. He was wearing a green cardigan and jeans and looked very modern and hip.

Rukia looked at the man, she felt this strange crunch in her heart and smiled for no apparent reason, she felt weird, she was not used to this feeling at all.

" Good morning guys!" said the tall man with enthusiasm , "My name is Kurosaki Ichigo and I will be your class teacher until Mrs. Ochi comes back. Hopefully you will welcome me and I'm really excited to teach you guys."

"But you're so young!" inquired a jumpy Keigo.

"Don't let that fool you" said Ichigo, " I may not look it but I do have some experience.

"Okay so I'll leave It to you Kurosaki" said the principal as he left the room.

Rukia was still staring at him, as the orange-haired man continued.

"Please don't mind but I really have a horrible time remembering names, but I'll get the hang of it don't worry." Said Ichigo whilst going to to the attendance sheet to take the attendance.

"Abarai Renji"

"Present"

"Kuchiki Rukia" said the new teacher. "Kuchiki Rukia!" he said again.

Rukia was too busy just staring at him, but she came out of her trance when he called her name for the second. "Uhh.. Present!" Rukia said raising a hand.

As he ticked the attendance sheet he smiled a little at Rukia, and just by that Rukia felt a blush coming and quickly hid her face on her desk.

Ichigo Kurosaki then took the class with a lot freedom and joy. The whole class liked his aura from the beginning and was very responsive to his boring physics lecture.

DING DONG!

"Oh that's the bell, okay you guys pack up and I'll see you tomorrow" he said and he quickly left the class.

Rukia got up and went to the cafeteria with her two friends.

"I think that guy is really cool" Tatsuki said

"Yeah me too." Rukia agreed with her bestfriend.

"I really don't see what the big deal is." Renji said with a smug face.

"That's because you're an ape." Said Rukia with no emotions, "Yup" agreed Tatsuki.

"Shut the hell up Kuchiki!" yelled Renji as they sat down and ate their lunch.

Rukia bid both of her friends farewell as she walked towards her building. She walked with an earphone plugged in her ears and nodded her head to the sweet melody of Radiohead.

Suddenly she felt a strong arm grab her wrist and pull her back. She was shocked to see that two old men were staring at her with an evil grin.

"Aren't you just a doll" said the first man with slimy smile.

Rukia was really scared now. "Let go of me!" she yelled and yanked her hand out of his grasp.

The second man took the opportunity to smack her face with full force. She fell to ground like a rag doll and tried to crawl away. But then the man pulled her up and held her hair.

"Owww" was all Rukia could muster.

"Shut up!" said the cruel man, "We're gonna have fun tonight!"

Just as they were about to take her away, a man punched the predator with extreme force, his jaw was completely crushed as he faltered to the ground. The second man backed away and yelled, "Who the fuck are you!"

Rukia stool still and her eyes opened with pure shock, she knew the man who was saving her,

"KUROSAKI-SENSEI!" She yelled. She was right, it was Kurosaki, he stood there as the wind moved his bright hair. He was glaring at the second man, this glare was instilling incredible fear at the heart of the second man. And with that he held the back of the man's head and drove it against his knee cap. Instantly crushing his nose and spilling blood.

All Rukia managed to do was stare in awe at her savior.

TO BE CONTINUED

AN: this is gonna be a huge fanfic so please tell me if you guys liked it, if I know that you guys are liking it, it will give me a great confidence boost!


	2. Chapter 2- Heavy Rain

Disclaimer: I DO not own bleach

Chapter 2- Heavy Rain

The man lay on the floor like a dead man, there were two, one had a broken nose and was unconscious and the other a broken jaw and still had blood dripping from his mouth. The man responsible for this feat was none other than the orange haired devil who now looked at Rukia and was walking towards her.

Rukia literally felt her heart skip a beat as the man gently touched her cheek and caressed it. Rukia was still staring at him and was unable to say a word.

"Your bruise looks serious, and you even a have cut on your lip. Come with me, my father owns a clinic just two blocks from here." Said the teacher with a soothing voice.

"No I couldn't impose Kurosaki sensei" said Rukia feeling incredibly shy.

"Don't be ridiculous, It's on the house and you can call me Ichigo outside of school" Ichigo suggested. "Please let me tend to your injury"

"Uhh.. okay" Rukia gave in.

"These parts of town are really dangerous, a girl like you shouldn't be walking home alone." Ichigo said as they both walked towards the Kurosaki clinic.

Rukia just nodded her head trying to figure out what he meant by 'a girl like you'

"I probably should have called the police but I don't think they'll have the courage to disturb you again." Said ichigo.

Rukia walked along and then she suddenly realized that she forgot to mention something. "Thank you, Kuro- I mean Ichigo…" she said not giving into any eye contact.

"There's no need to thank me, I'm just glad I was at the right place at the right time." Said flashing a very warm smile. The smile was contagious as Rukia smiled along with him.

"We're here. Please come in." said Ichigo.

They both entered the clinic and Rukia sat down on the couch as Ichigo went to look for some ice and stitches.

"I need to stitch you up. It's gonna sting a little so you can hold my hand for the pain" suggested the handsome man.

Rukia slightly blushed at this proposal but she grasped his immediately, and Ichigo began the stitching with one hand. Rukia grimaced in pain as the needle penetrated her skin.

"Im sorry" Ichigo apologized

Rukia was shocked at what he just said. "No you're clearly helping me."

"Well it's done, hopefully it will heal within a week" said ichigo with a proud grin.

"Thank you so much you have no idea how grateful I am" said Rukia bowing.

"Oh shucks you're just too much." Said ichigo while scratching the back of his head.

Ring…. Ring… Rukia's phone started ringing and she looked at the phone and received it.

"Nii-sama" Rukia answered.

"Rukia where are you? You're very late. Is something wrong." Her brother inquired.

Ichigo looked at her with worry in his eyes.

"No nii-sama everything's fine. I'm coming right over." Lied Rukia.

"Okay. I'm ordering pizza for dinner, alright?" asked Byakuya changing the topic.

"Okay" said Rukia as she hung up the phone and looked at Ichigo.

"How are you gonna hide the scar?" asked Ichigo after he heard the conversation with her brother.

"I'll explain it to him when I get home" said Rukia. Rukia then noticed something that made her scream out loud. She saw a giant chappy the bunny poster hung up on the wall.

"WHAT HAPPENED!?" Ichigo yelled clearly surprised.

"I can't believe you like chappy!" she yelled backed.

Ichigo then turned around and saw the poster, "Oh you mean that? That's my sister Yuzu's. Why the fuck would I watch something as stupid as that" Ichigo laughed. Then he felt a sharp pain on his shin as the short girl kicked him. Ichigo then hopped on one leg and yelped in pain.

"Don't diss chappy, its one of the most profound pieces of art ever!" said the angered girl.

"You must be kidding me! I would rather watch pubes grow!" Ichigo retaliated.

"That's disgusting." Said Rukia but then she smiled a little at the joke, Ichigo noticed this and grinned like an idiot. Then they looked at each other and suddenly burst out laughing. The laughing died down and Rukia thought the atmosphere around them was very cool.

"You want anything to snack on?" offered Ichigo

"No thanks I should probably head out." Just as Rukia said this she looked outside the window to see rain. Heavy rain.

"Now you HAVE to stay." Ichigo said with a grin developing on his face. " And I'm NOT giving you an umbrella." He said feeling victorious.

Rukia sighed in defeat as she sat down on the couch. Ichigo went to his kitchen and brought two bags of chips and threw one at Rukia.

"So tell me about yourself Kuchiki." Said Ichigo as he sat beside her.

"Well I don't want you to get bored" said Rukia feeling a bit shy at all the attention she was getting from her teacher.

"Then I'll start" said ichigo showing her his tongue, Rukia giggled at this and he continued, "I come from a planet called Boompa, we're a very good looking bunch of fellows."

Rukia just laughed more at this, " Oh stop it!" she said while still laughing."

"I really don't understand why you're not taking me seriously" said Ichigo pretending to be hurt.

"You're an idiot" said Rukia with a smile.

"And you're incredibly short" Ichigo said bluntly.

"Hey!" Rukia said while playfully punching him on the shoulder, "Where's your family?" she pondered innocently.

"Well they must be out doing something, my dad's a psychopath just so you know" he said.

"Yeah that must be the reason he runs a clinic all by himself" she said not believing him for a minute.

"You wanna watch a movie?" asked Ichigo while looking outside the window to see the rain gushing down even harder.

"That would be fun!" Rukia said as her eye widened with excitement, "wait let me call my brother to let him know."

They both sat on the couch and were halfway through the movie "300"

"I can't believe you picked something so boy-ish, Ichigo" whined the girl as she munched on some popcorn.

"Are you kidding me? This is one of the best movies ever!" said an overly enthusiastic Ichigo.

Rukia just rolled her eyes. Even though she was complaining deep down inside she was really happy. She had no idea why but she didn't remember the last time she had this much fun with anyone. It was just the incredible aura that oozed out of Ichigo. It made her feel very happy. It made her feel safe. The connection she had with him was as if she knew him for her entire life, but in reality it had only been a day. Yes she had great friends like Renji and Tatsuki but being near Ichigo felt amazing.

She was getting bored watching the incredibly boy-ish movie and without even realizing she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Ichigo?" she said very cutely.

"Hmm?" he asked still not taking his eye off the tv set.

"Why did you become a teacher?" she asked curiously.

"I'm still not a teacher-teacher, I'm just filling in for Mrs. Ochi. I just want the extra credit before my college starts." He said simply.

"Ohh… honestly I don't want you to leave." Said Rukia

Ichigo was taken a back by this, " Really?" he said feeling happy.

"Yeah. Mrs. Ochi was a bitch" she said clearly.

Ichigo then scowled at Rukia and she burst out laughing. She hadn't laughed like this in a long time. Not after her sister died, and the rest of her family. And with that thought… RING RING!

She picked up the phone, "Hello!" she said feeling irritated

"Rukia. Why are you not returning home" asked her big brother clearly annoyed.

"But Nii-sama it's raining!" she whined.

"Have you lost it? The rain stopped an hour ago" he informed her.

Rukia then peeped outside the window to find out that her brother was right.

"AHHHH!" she shrieked, "I'm sorry I'm coming right over!" and with that she hung up the phone and looked at Ichigo.

"You have to go?" asked Ichigo

"Yeah I do" said Rukia as she pulled on her shoes and headed for the door." Thanks for everything, Ichigo"

"Wait give me your number" he said

Rukia slightly blushed at this request, not a single guy in her life ever asked for her number.

Then they both exchanged their numbers and Rukia went for the door.

"I'll take a physics pop quiz tomorrow so be prepared." Said Ichigo as he opened the door for Rukia.

"Ughhh" was the only response he got from the tiny girl. And at that Ichigo suddenly realized something.

"Hey, wait. It's quite late, I should drop you off." He said with a serious tone.

"Oh don't bother" said Rukia again feeling a bit shy.

"Stop it. I'm taking you home and that's final" he ordered. And obviously Rukia couldn't say anything against that.

They both walked the damp wet pavements of Karakura town. A small ray of sunlight peeking through the clouds made the weather look superb. Like a child Rukia tugged the shirt of Ichigo to point at a magnificent sight, a beautiful rainbow had enveloped the skies. Twilight slowly came as the sun dipped the clouds and went to sleep.

They hadn't said a word to each other, but it never felt awkward, it was a comforting silence.

"My mother used to love weather liked this, she thought it was very calming, it was peaceful." He said softly.

Rukia could understand what happened by his use of past tense. She certainly felt something for the man.

"Your mother must have been a great person" she said looking upto Ichigo, she hated the look of melancholy in his eyes.

"Yeah she was" Ichigo added, " Oh sorry I must be bringing you down"

"It's okay, I can feel your pain. My family died a few years ago" said Rukia looking at the ground. Ichigo was shocked by this and as Rukia continued. "An earthquake had taken them, a goddamn tsunami- earthquake. My brother and I are the sole survivors. We live each day as it comes" she quickly said with a strained smile. Ichigo could feel his heart sting as the poor girl said this.

He rested an arm on her shoulder and said, " I'm so sorry"

"Don't be" rukia said feeling very special with the comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Well this is my building" she said with a smile

" Okay Rukia I'll see you tomorrow morning" he said returning the smile she gave him.

They both bid themselves farewell and Rukia pushed the button on her elevator. She opened the door with her key and went inside only to see a fearful Kuchiki Byakuya glaring at her.

"What the hell is that!" he yelled as he came over to see a small stitch on the left side of her lip. " Who did this you?"

"Nii-Sama it's nothing. I just fell from the stairs and went to clinic to fix myself up." She said trying to look as honest as she could.

Byakuya did not seem to buy it as he asked further.

"You were doing something else, weren't you?" interrogated the scary looking man.

"No not at all" lied Rukia.

"Fine I will believe you." Said Byakuya, "Your pizza has gotten cold, heat it using the microwave"

Rukia stared at the fancy shining microwave, "Ahhh! Where'd you get that!" she yelped in surprise.

"I just bought it today" he said, "It's nice right? I wanted to go to the mall with you but you weren't here" he finished.

"I'm sorry Nii- Sama" she apologized.

"It's okay, Rukia" he said, "Go now, take your dinner to your room."

She did as she was told and went for her with two slices of pizza on a plate. She quickly finished the meal and went to her bed. She snuggled in with the comforter and all she could do was wait for the next day to arrive so she could see her orange haired teacher again. She shut her eyes and dreamt of orange haired bunnies.

Ichigo walked alone in the depths of night. He thought to himself, "_There's something about that girl…"_

He walked and he finally reached his destination. A small wooden candy shop. He entered the premises as the welcoming bells chirped.

And then was greeted by a goofy looking blonde man wearing a hat and holding a weird fan.

"OHAYOOOOO! Kurosaki-saaaan" he leaped and hugged the tall man, "It's been way to long!"

Ichigo then shoved the goof away and said, "Yeah it has, I didn't think I would have to see you this early."

"What can I help you with" he said and called both of his assistants Ururu and Jinta.

"I just wanted a Marlboro" Kurosaki said with a bored look on his face.

"Ahhh but smoking kills!" said Urahara as he pretended to care for his health.

"Just give it to me old man" Ichigo said looking annoyed. Ururu handed Urahara a carton of Marlboro Reds and he unboxed it and gave one to Ichigo.

"Don't worry it's on the house, seeing you after so long it's the least I can do" Urahara said generously

"Thank you Urahara" Ichigo said as he went for the exit.

"But Kurosaki" Urahara said in a very serious tone. The whole room suddenly felt very dense and gloomy, " You cannot escape what you are."

Ichigo was a bit surprised by this but he looked Urahara in the eye and said, " I know."

And with that he left the shop without saying another word.

He shivered as he felt the chill of the night air. He lit the cigarette in his mouth and puffed his first smoke of the whole day. It calmed his senses and felt relaxed as he took another puff, he felt the beautiful smoke cleanse his entire body, he had missed this feeling very much. It had only been a week he hadn't smoked.

He arrived at his home only to see his family had fallen asleep. He went to his room and threw himself on the bed. He stared at the ceiling with no emotions at all as he lit another cigarette.

"AHHH"…"Ahhh" the red headed man poured more lubricant in his hand as he vigorously adjusted his hand and pushed up and down even harder. He could feel his climax as put his forehead against the computer screen he was looking at. And then a fountain of white milk erupted from his fireman as he slumped to his seat and sighed, "ahhhhhhh"

"You disgusting pervert…" Tatsuki sighed with an embarrassed face.

Renji's face went blue as he slowly turned his head to see the figure of Tatsuki in his room.

"GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!" Renji bellowed at the top of his lungs.

They were now both walking the pavement wearing their school uniforms, Renji walked with such embarrassment that he couldn't handle it.

"You could have knocked you know!" he said still angered at the girl.

Tatsuki than smacked him on the head, "You were the one that told me to pick you up you mutt!" she yelled.

"Fine, fine! We should hurry to Rukia's apartment aswell. Or else we're all gonna be late" he said reasonably.

Meanwhile, Byakuya was preparing breakfast for him and his beloved sister. Rukia sat on the chair and was thinking about the dream she had.

"What are you thinking about?" asked Byakuya while digging into his cereal.

Rukia slightly blushed as she just realized she was spacing out thinking about her teacher.

"Uhh nothing!" she blurted out.

Byakuya raised an eyebrow to this and got up. "Can you fix my tie for me?" she asked his sister.

"Sure" Rukia got up and adjusted the tie on her brother's shirt.

Byakuya worked at a well renowned phone company, he was a junior assistant but always worked hard as he was eyeing a promotion.

"Don't get into any trouble, okay? Listen carefully to your teacher's lectures." Byakuya said.

Just then they heard a knock on their door and Rukia went over to open it and was surprised to see Renji and Tatsuki.

Renji came in and was instantly glared at by her brother. Renji was always scared to death by that man.

"I see your friends have come to pick you up. Alright, you may go now." Byakuya said as walked over to his room.

"Jesus Christ you could've warned us that your brother was here." Renji said sweating a bit.

Rukia was irritated with this response and slightly nudged Renji on the shoulder, "You didn't even tell me you were coving over you doofus."

"Why is everyone calling me names today!" Renji complained

"Cuz you're an idiot" Tatsuki added.

The trio walked the pavement of beautiful Karakura town, a friendly town but plagued with gangsters and thieves. People had to be on the look out. Especially at night.

They entered their school and were greeted by their usual clique of friends, Keigo, Mizurio and a host of other friends whose names I don't remember in the slightest.

"What happened to your lip, Rukia!?" asked Keigo.

"It's nothing I just fell down the stairs." Lied Rukia again.

"Your lying."Tatsuki said quikly.

"No I'm not, Tatsuki!" retaliated Rukia

"Alright, alright settle down class" entered Kurosaki Ichigo.

Rukia instantly turned her head to see the tall man, a slight smile crept on her lips as she took her seat. She was delighted to see him again, nobody knew about their previous encounter and she would like to keep it that way.

Rukia thought Ichigo looked tired, as if something was on his mind.

Ichigo was halfway through the class when suddenly he looked at his phone, his eyes widened in shock.

The class didn't notice this but Rukia did.

"What's wrong, Kurosaki-sensei?" she asked curiously.

"Umm nothing, Rukia" he said as he reassured her.

The bell rang and Ichigo was the first person to leave the class, he hurriedly picked up his briefcase and went for the exit without a moment's thought.

The class didn't mind, but Rukia thought, "_Geez, why did he leave like that? I wanted to talk to him again"_

Rukia thought the rest of the day was very boring as she endured her maths class which she hated the most.

But in the end she went home without seeing her class- teacher even once. She thought the day felt very empty, and at the back of her mind she wanted those goons to attack her again so Ichigo could save her again. She chuckled at this childish thought.

She entered her apartment feeling very gloomy she didn't want the day to end like this. She fell one her bed and brought the pillow close to her. She than heard her phone beep, she picked the phone up to see who would message her. She opened the message to see…. "_hiii _:)" BY Kurosaki Ichigo.

The next thing she did was regrettable but she couldn't control it.

"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" she squealed like a school girl.

Astonished by this noise Byakuya barged in her room, "What's wrong!" he inquired, genuinely worried.

Rukia looked up and with a grin said, "Nothing, nothing at all."

Byakuya's eyebrow twitched in annoyance and said, "Look I've something serious to say to you."

"What is it, Nii-sama?" she asked.

"Your maths result is seriously embarrassing" he said with an air of superiority in his voice, "I took it upon myself to find you a skillful home tutor, he will be arriving tomorrow morning."

"Nooo nii sama" she pleaded," My weekend starts tomorrow!"

"That's the point." Byakuya said cruelly, "Now don't argue" and with that he left the room.

Rukia was bummed by this news but it still did not un-excite her. She quickly grabbed her phone to text.

"_hey dandelion _:P" she pressed send with a slight giggle. And her phone beeped again.

"_I didn't know you picked a nickname for me fine I'll just call you midget ;)" _She was a bit annoyed by this response but was still smiling liking an idiot. They continued chatting for the night until both of them went to sleep.

Rukia woke up the next morning in a foul mood, she would have to do maths first thing in the morning, and that too with a home tutor, she hated meeting new people. She saw a small note on her bedside table and read it:-

"_Breakfast is the fridge, don't go out, your tutor will arrive any minute"_

She crunched this paper into a ball and through it inside the dust-bin, acknowledging her basketball skills. Just then she heard the bell. "Ohh great…" she said to herself feeling lazy.

She opened the door and her jaw dropped, this was something she was not expecting, the pure shock ran through her body, it was as if she saw a ghost. The man on the other end was equally shocked, with a nervous chuckle and a scratch on the back of his head he said, " Ohayoo Rukia" If you still haven't figured it out yet than I can only pray for you, yes it was none other than Kurosaki Ichigo.

A/N: Ahhh I'll write bigger chapters next time so keep tuned. And please review, even if it is criticism I would really appreciate it.


	3. Chapter 3- Grey Hoodie

Discalimer: Don't own anything.

Chapter 3- Hoodie

Rukia's speech had betrayed her. She was unable to utter a single word, the pure shock was too immense. The man she saw before her, this was the man she thought about all the time. She wanted him to notice her, even though he was her teacher the feelings wouldn't go away. The sudden realization hit her, she was in her pajamas, her hair was a mess. She started panicking for no apparent reason, her heart beat slowly rising.

"Well… are you gonna let me come in or….." Ichigo said awkwardly with a strained smile.

"Ahh! Of course!" Rukia yelped a little slightly embarrassed at her lack of manners. She felt so nervous, she didn't know why. HE was in HER apartment! The mere thought sent chills down her spine, but this was reality.

"I'm sorry I couldn't text you or anything, I didn't even know ha-ha" he chuckled, " But I'm happy I get to teach my favourite student" he finished with a warm smile as he took a seat on the couch.

Rukia knew this fact, but she was still happy to hear it from him.

"Wow! I am your favourite huh?" she asked with a smile.

"Duhh" was the response she got.

Ichigo had a grey hoodie on and wore normal blue jeans.

"I'll go change." She said.

"Why?" Ichigo asked tilting his head in confusion

"Cause I feel like it." Rukia said after looking at his confused face.

"Good. You have some spunk today, that'll help you with your maths." He said cheerfully.

"That seriously doesn't make any sense." Rukia said with a chuckle.

Rukia went into her room feeling flustered. She shut the door and pressed her back against the door letting out a sigh. The aftermath of the shock was still there. Deep down inside she was so happy. She mentally thanked her brother for scouting Ichigo as a maths teacher. The prospects of this arrangement made her feel very excited. She would have him only to herself, she would be taught privately. A sudden blush hinted at her cheeks as she looked through the peephole to see Ichigo examining their flower vase, he looked so cute doing that.

She changed into her normal fun cloths, a black t-shirt with a bunny picture on it and blue skinny jeans. She opened the door to see Ichigo sloughing on the couch as he kept pushing buttons on his phone.

"Ahh you're here. Look you're results haven't been good" he said in a serious tone," It's like you don't understand anything."

"You're right, _senseiii" _She teased as she took the seat beside him.

Ichigo scowled at her trying to look formidable, this only added to her giggles.

"Listen, Midget I will take it upon myself to make you the greatest student our high school has ever seen, and you're not getting in the way of that." he said with a confident air in his words.

"That will never happen you strawberry" she said as she crossed her arms.

"Don't underestimate the great Kurosaki" he said as he grinned like an idiot.

And with that the pair began their work. They tackled algebra and geometry. The more they studied the more Ichigo realized that she was a lost case, completely un-talented in the skill of maths. The whole time Ichigo tried anything to get through her head, Rukia just stared at him blankly, pretending to care. Ichigo didn't notice but Rukia was lost in his hazelnut eyes, staring deeply into them. She knew she had fallen for him, fallen for him bad.

After a while, a new thought occurred to her. 'What does he feel about me?' With that, she stunned herself. She had no idea how he really felt. The man might not harbor any feelings for her whatsoever, but how was she supposed to know? Could she just ask him? What if he rejected her? She couldn't fathom losing him now. What if asking him about it made that possibility a reality? She couldn't risk losing him, it would be too much for her to take. She deeply thought about this as the boring man lectured on and on.

"Oi Rukia!" he yelled in complete and utter annoyance.

"Huh?" she blurted out as she was taken out of her daze.

"Could you tell me what I just said?" he asked simply.

"You k-now t-that you can't add coefficients t-together o-or something" she stammered.

Ichigo literally face palmed himself and asked, "How could I reach you? Well it wouldn't be very difficult since you're so close to the ground!" he finished trying to go for a lame joke. This only earned him a smack on the head.

Rukia noticed that Ichigo would only glance at his phone from time to time.

"Are you waiting for a text or something." She asked in a dry voice, she didn't like that for some reason. An obvious reason.

"Umm…" Ichigo muttered trying to think of a lie of some sort, "Well yeah it's just my friend Ishida, he was supposed to text me and let me know if he got the tickets to a football match I was waiting for."

Rukia just nodded at this.

They studied for two hours, Rukia was getting a headache and Ichigo seemed to enjoy the whole thing, Ichigo really liked teaching, a passion he picked up a long time ago and teaching her felt amazing for some reason.

"Can we please end it for today?" Rukia pleaded.

"Fine. You wanna go out and get a bite to eat? No worries my treat." Ichigo offered while he packed his leather briefcase.

This offer was like music to Rukia's ears, not the fact that she didn't have to pay but that Ichigo wanted to actually spend time with her, she tried really hard not to look too excited.

They both left the apartment and Rukia locked the main entrance. She was happy, she usually didn't go out that much, that fact that it was with Ichigo only added to the happiness. They walked the clean pavement under the bright sun. Rukia cheerfully smiled at her teacher for no apparent reason, this made Ichigo smile back even more, a warm smile that Rukia loved to see. Ichigo then popped an earphone into Rukia's left ear and he popped one in on his right ear. He shuffled through his ipod and picked a track. Rukia instantly recognized the song and yelped, "You listen to U2 aswell?!"

"Duhhh" was the response she got.

They chirpily walked the footpath and sang the chorus of the song together, "_Who's gonna run your wild horses!"_

Rukia then laughed whole-heartedly at this.

"Were here" Rukia informed him taking the ear plug out.

They had come to a local ice-cream parlour, it was cheap and Rukia really had a craving. Ichigo had no idea why, the temperature was really chilly outside.

They walked up to the clerk and Ichigo ordered, " Give me a cappuccino and waffles and give the lady here umm… What flavor do you want?" he asked while viewing all the different vibrant flavours.

"I want strawberry" she replied cutely.

"You heard her." Ichigo said with a smile.

They both took their seats on a cool wooden circular table.

"I love what they've done with the place." Ichigo said as he looked around the small café.

"My sister used to bring me here often, I always chose strawberry." Rukia said with a strained smile.

Ichigo could feel the deep hurt in her eyes, it broke his heart into pieces to see such an innocent girl withstand so much pain and suffering. It made him want to hold her in his arms, to comfort her and tell her everything's gonna be okay. Just as he was about to say something the waiter interrupted them and served them their respective orders. Ichigo could see the pure joy in Rukia's eyes after receiving the strawberry flavoured delicacy. She looked like an innocent child.

They both talked and had their meals. It was such a comfortable atmosphere. They talked about a lot of things, useless things.

"Well when I was in high school my buddies and I used to say, "jerk off, jerk off, jerk off" when the teacher turned her back on us." He explained having a bite of his waffle.

"What would happen if we did that to you?" Rukia asked tilting her head.

"You guys wouldn't have lived to see another day." Ichigo said with all seriousness.

They both finished their meals and went for the exit. People looked their way and thought they were a very good looking couple, only if they knew the lame truth.

"It's freezing!" Rukia whined as she rubbed her bare pale forearms. It really was freezing, Christmas was nearing and the temperature in Karakura was never merciful.

Ichigo then did something very sweet, he pulled off his hoodie and handed it to Rukia.

"Here, just take it." He commanded.

Rukia didn't even hesitate to take it out of his hands and she quickly pulled on the grey hoodie. Ichigo chuckled at this.

"I should walk you home." Ichigo offered, but just as he finished saying this his phone went beserk with a horrible tune and his face expression changed in a millisecond, "On second thought you have to go on without me Rukia!"

He then hastily hugged Rukia before she could even say anything, she was taking a back by this as she felt his strong shoulders. She melted into the hug, feeling every sensation she could feel, as Ichigo was about to let go Rukia tightened the hug and softly sighed, " Don't hide stuff from me, idiot."

Ichigo widened his eyes in shock and weakly said, " I'm not hiding anything, really. Now can you reach home alone? Or should I take you?" still none of them let go of each other.

"It's okay, I can get home just fine on my own." Rukia said as she pulled away from the heavenly embrace.

"Okay than! See ya later, Rukia!" Ichigo yelled as he sprinted off in the other direction.

Rukia was left stranded in the cold. Little snowflakes fell from the heavens and landed on her tiny shoulders. The chilly breeze brought an eerie air of uncertainty as she sighed at her current position. All she could do was believe in Ichigo's words, other than that she had nothing else to do. She grabbed the hoodie and whiffed in the scent of the orange-haired teacher, she loved that scent. She took another whiff and sighed, "Oh how I love you stupid old teacher."

Christmas was upon the small town of Karakura . The snow fell joyously from the clouds and filled the town with blissful happiness. The pressure of Christmas was in full flow, malls were busy and traffic plagued the city. The birth of Jesus Christ was certainly a monumental occasion, decorations and colours brought the city alive.

Two weeks had passed since Ichigo started his private tutoring with Rukia, they had seen each other on a regular basis and hung out from time to time, but Rukia still kept their interactions a secret from her best friends Tatsuki and Renji. She thought they would make a big deal out of nothing. She was right in assuming that.

Rukia awoke early in the excitement of Christmas , she was just like a little child. Special holidays like this were the epitome of her good days, she felt so comfortable in the comforter that enveloped her, keeping her warm. She slowly rose from her position, still feeling drowsy, she grabbed her phone to see if she got any messages from Ichigo, to her delight she did get one. It said: "_ Merry Christmas Rukiaaaaa! If u wanna meet up swing by the centre mall at 4, I'll be there :d" _

Just after reading that she jumped up and dashed across the apartment, she entered her brother's room where he was peacefully sleeping, but not anymore.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS NII SAMA!" she bellowed as she jumped on top of him. They both struggled and wiggled but Rukia won when she was perfectly on top of him, staring into her brother's sleep ridden eyes.

"You imbecile." Byakuya sighed, " Get off of me"

As Rukia got off Byakuya and slipped on his slippers and said, "Merry Christmas, kozo!"

Byakuya then went to his bathroom.

Rukia laughed and pushed herself back on her brother's bed, she started thinking about her teacher, as usual. "_What am I gonna wear? What are we gonna do? Should I bring Renji and Tatsuki?" _ The questions overflowed her mind. She started getting comfortable again and curled up with Byakuya's comforter. She was still wearing the hoodie Ichigo gave her, she always wore it when she goes to sleep, the scent always calmed her nerves and it always ushered a good night's sleep. " Thank god he didn't want it back yet." She said to herself with a smile.

"When did you buy that hoodie?" Byakuya asked wearing his chappy the rabbit pajamas.

"You're too observant Nii sama!" Rukia whined as she got up and went to the living room.

"You didn't answer the question brat!" Byakuya yelled as he went to the living room aswell.

"I'm going to open my present now!" Rukia cheered in excitement.

Yes they had a beautiful Christmas tree which was well decorated, and under the Christmas tree laid two finely wrapped present boxes.

Byakuya couldn't help but smile at her cute, tiny sister. He thought she was so adorable sometimes. It reminded him so much of his wife.

*FLASHBACK*

_Byakuya held her tightly as their mansion was crumbling to pieces, the pillars fell and crumbled to the ground, a horrendous feat was occurring. Hisana was so scared as she tightly clung to her husband for protection. Byakuya knew they were all going to perish, he looked scared as well as he held Hisana in his arms, there was no way he was going to let go._

"_Byakuya, please listen to me." Hisana pleaded in his chest._

"_Keep silent! There is no way I will leave you!" Byakuya spit out._

"_Please save my sister, she's only five, she still hasn't lived her life! She still hasn't had the feeling of love! Don't take that away from her! I know you are the only one that can save her now. You have that power." Hisana begged him._

"_I will take you with me!" Byakuya said as emotion cemented his throat, he was trying so hard to hold back the tears that threatened to escape from the honourable man's eyes._

"_Byakuya, please darling you know I will die anyway!" she screamed, " Please let me go this way, I don't want spend the rest of my life coughing blood on a deathbed! I love you so much, Byakuya please save her. Let me be free. Dying like this is much more beautiful!"_

_Byakuya understood her feelings, he knew she was dying, he grinded his teeth and swallowed the hard truth, with that he kissed his wife passionately for the last time, her eyes couldn't hold back the tears as she melted into the kiss. Byakuya got up and left her, " I will save your sister, Hisana. Goodbye, my love"_

"_Thank you so much, Byakuya." Hisana sighed. She smiled knowing that her sister would be saved. She looked up at the ceiling, not being able to comprehend the last few seconds of the gift of life. She was still smiling as the ceiling collapsed and crushed her body in seconds._

*END FLASHBACK*

"You got me a sweater." Rukia said looking very irritated.

"it's nice isn't it?" Byakuya said with an idiotic smile, " I got it 20% off! Well, what are you waiting for? Try it on."

Rukia unenthusiastically put on the red sweater. "It feels warm I guess." She said still looking annoyed.

Byakuya didn't even notice that as he savagely opened his box, to find a tiny velvet box. His eyes widened in shock to find a classy looking silver watch.

"Rukia! You shouldn't have, how much did this cost?!" Byakuya said as he tried it on.

"You don't need to know!" she said with a pout as she went to her room to choose the clothes she was going to wear for the afternoon

"DON'T FUCK WITH ME SADO!" Ichigo yelled as he struggled in his seat.

"You can't possibly think you have the slightest chance of beating me." Sado said simply.

The two men were arm-wrestling each other in the food court.

"You two apes haven't changed at all" Ishida said as he repositioned his glasses.

"Go Kurosaki saaaan!" yelled Urahara. The four men were attracting a lot of attention as people stared at the strange group.

Both of them were deadlocked in a tied position.

"Can we please just order?" Ishida asked in annoyance.

"No Rukia isn't here yet!" Ichigo yelled as he was starting to lose. And with that bit of distraction Sdo completely crushed his hand as it slammed on the table.

"You've gotten soft Ichigo" Sado said as he shook his hand in victory, "How long will your girlfriend take?"

"She's not my girlfriend!" Ichigo said with a blush, "She's my student goddamit!"

"Speaking of which, where's Orihime?" asked a jumpy Urahara.

"She's ill Urahara san" replied Ishida, " Please don't be so jumpy."

Urahara then slowly poked his nose, he drilled his nose and rolled up a ball of booger with his finger and he simply flicked it at Ishida.

As soon Ishida felt the impact on his face he leaped from his chair, his face slowly turning blue in disgust, "Urahara saaaan!" he screamed in agony.

While this was going on Sado and Ichigo couldn't care less as they discussed the fine arts of arm wrestling.

That was usually the feel around this whole crew. Some people would really love to study their strange behaviors.

While all of this was happening a special raven haired girl watched from the crowds, her eyes fixated on a certain orange haired man. She took a deep breath and walked over to the food court.

Ichigo's eye's fell on a girl he knew very well, he smiled whole-heartedly removing that famous scowl on his face.

"Rukia, you're here! We've been waiting for you!" Ichigo said.

Rukia smiled at the entire group of people and then was shocked.

"Urahara saaan!" Rukia yelped.

"Rukia!" Urahara said as he leaped to hug the small girl.

"And how exactly do you guys know each other?" Ichigo asked with a confused look.

"She's one of my regulars Kurosaki! I've known her forever!" Urahara yelled.

"I'm Ishida." Ishida said as he stretched out a hand to Rukia, "Ichigo's childhood friend."

Rukia was about to the shake the hand but was interrupted by another hand.

"I'm Sado." Said the huge Mexican, " Ichigo's less gayer childhood friend."

Rukia stared at them and then burst out laughing, Sado, Ichigo and Urahara also joined the fitter of laughter as Ishida was staring at the ground in gut wrenching embarrassment.

Between all the laughter Rukia managed to glance at Ichigo as he gave her a warm welcoming smile.

TO BE CONTINUED-

A/N Okay done with this one, hope you liked it, please let me know if you did. Alright byee take care.


	4. Chapter 4- Old Man

Disclaimer- I don't own anything of any significance.

A/N: I'm sorry guys I was a bit late on this one, you see I had to go on this trip with a couple of classmates and that took a lot of my time so I couldn't write, but now I'm home and bored again so I'm gonna write much more. I hope you guys enjoy this one.

Chapter 4- Old Man

And on that faithful day Rukia had spent her entire day with Ichigo and his gang. They had caused so much ruckus that Rukia questioned the fact that they were actually college students, well except Urahara because he's a bit loony. They all sat down on the food court table and discussed what they were going to do.

"Well we should watch a movie." Ishida said repositioning his glasses.

"I prefer comedy." Urahara chirped in.

Rukia thought the group were very funny, she liked watching them quarrel, but after they quarrel they act as if nothing ever happened. She felt they had reached a level of friendship that was very strong. She thought Ichigo was very lucky as she looked up at him taking a huge bite of his chicken leg.

"Eat slowly, you'll get it stuck in your throat." Rukia suggested with care.

"No it wont." Ichigo shrugged, "Come on, lets go take our seats."

Everyone nodded in agreement as they abandoned their chairs. Ishida as usual paid the bill, he didn't mind doing that because Sado was buying the ticket for him.

Rukia felt at ease, she always felt that way with Ichigo. As each day went by she felt herself being attracted to him even more. The harsh reality was that she had no idea what he thought of her, it made her feel so empty. What if the love she has for him never gets repaid? What if Ichigo only saw her as a junior friend? These thoughts had plagued her mind, she then tugged on Ichigo's sleeve.

"What movie are we watching?" she asked.

"It's comedy don't worry" Ichigo replied, "We'll have fun." He finished with a smile.

Rukia smiled back at him. They all walked towards the movie theater and with no warning someone grasped Rukia's shoulder.

"Well I had guessed it was you!" yelled a really frustrated looking Tatsuki.

Renji had accompanied her and was glaring at Rukia behind Tatsuki's back.

Rukia was astonished, she hadn't expected seeing them here, she had kept her secret hidden from her best friends for far too long and now it looked like she was caught red handed. Rukia quickly thought of a solution that would help her in this situation, one of the few traits she had learned from her elder brother.

"Can we please talk somewhere else, Tatsuki?" pleaded Rukia.

Tatsuki didn't want to listen to her but she was about to give in when someone else chimed in.

"Is something wrong?" asked an ignorant Ichigo, "oi you're Tatsuki and Renji!"

Ichigo had just realized that fact, while the crew were looking on from behind him.

"Ichigo it's nothing… let me handl-" Rukia was cut off when Ichigo interrupted her.

"Why don't you guys join us? I think we're seeing the same movie." Said Ichigo casually.

"I think that's a great idea!" Tatsuki announced as she dug her nails into Rukia's forearm, Rukia grimaced in pain but she could understand where Tatsuki was coming from.

The only person who was still confused was the baboon Renji, the only reason he came was because Tatsuki kicked him out of bed at twelve in the afternoon. He now knew why Rukia was avoiding him, it was all because of their weird substitute teacher? A fueling rage was building inside Renji at the thought of this. They were childhood friends, he cared for her so much and yet she decided to keep her weird relationship with her teacher a secret.

They all sat down on their respective theater seats.

"I better get a good explanation." Renji demanded Rukia.

"Fine, Renji. It's not even that big of a deal." Rukia rolled her eyes at him.

Renji was scoping out the scene, he sat sandwiched in between Tatsuki and Rukia, he looked and saw a huge latin guy with quite an impressive figure, a skinny pale nerd, and a famous candy shop keeper. He didn't mind all the unknown company but one thing that was ticking him off was the fact that Rukia was giggling as she talked with Ichigo. He thought the sight was disgusting, he crunched his hand into a fist and twitched up an eyebrow in severe annoyance.

"Well isn't this jolly?" he muttered with a lame expression.

"I know what's bothering you" Tatsuki chirped in with a grin on her face.

"Oh please Tatsuki don't make a fool out of yourself." Renji said in a hushed tone so Rukia and the other's couldn't hear him.

Tatsuki giggled at this response and whispered, "You truly are a bafoon, you just can't stand Rukia being happy with another guy can you?"

Renji expression was as if he had seen a ghost, was it that obvious? She really was poking at him at a really soft spot. It didn't feel nice, it felt humiliating. He wanted to be a substitute teacher so bad now. He knew Tatsuki was as forward as anything, that didn't surprise him. The thing that surprised him was he really really didn't like seeing her with another guy.

"Please shut up for once you dirty bitch" Renji whispered with a robotic smile on his face.

Tatsuki sighed in victory as she looked over to the screen to see the movie that everyone was ignoring a bit. You don't actually watch a movie at the movie theater now do you? Sado and Ishida were in deep conversation on why they brought Urahara to the get together, Urahara was having the time of his life listening to the entire conversation.

Rukia was looking straight at Ichigo's eyes as they talked about their common interest in small puppies.

"You know the one that fit into drinking glasses?" Rukia asked.

"You have to be kidding me, there is no such thing." Ichigo said as he crossed his arms.

"Ughh there is too! Their that small!" Rukia pleaded her case as she indicated with her fingers how small they were.

"Yeah and I have a pet ogre." Ichigo said with a smug smile on his face.

"Don't teacher's actually need to be smart nowadays?" Rukia asked with a grin on her face.

Ichigo chuckled at what just came out of Rukia's mouth, "Fine you brat, I'll search it online. Now could you please let me watch the movie?"

Rukia did not like the comeback, she felt that Ichigo had just won the whole battle.

"Oh please you started the conve-" Rukia was about to finish the sentence but was cut off by her best friend.

"Shut up will you?" Tatsuki said with an irritated face.

Rukia slumped into her chair and gave out a slight pout, her cheeks red in embarrassing defeat. Ichigo thought that was the best scene he had ever seen and burst out laughing at Rukia.

"_Stooop _it…" Rukia pleaded as she pretended to be hurt.

Ichigo took this opportunity and placed an arm on her shoulder, " Oh I am so very sorry miss" he finished with a sly grin.

Rukia was still frowning but as two seconds went by she couldn't resist but smile at the orange- haired teacher.

The group had somehow managed to finish the entire movie on this holy Christmas evening. Sado the person who had chosen the movie ironically did laugh once in the entire seating. Ishida thought the movie was dull and needed more effort from the highly paid actors. Urahara had the time of his life, sadly.

Renji was just waiting to go home, he didn't feel so good. The bottled up rage would only foreshadow things to come. Rukia exited the movie theater and was halted by Ichigo.

"Oi Rukia!" he yelled for no particular reason, and she wasn't that far away from him.

"Tell me." Rukia said as she still gave him a smile.

"If you're free on the 31st you should come with us." Ichigo said as he crossed his arms again.

Rukia was trying very hard to hide the sudden happiness that had consumed her, she really didn't care where she went as long as she went with Ichigo. But a 31st night out? Where could it be? What were they going to do? These thoughts had entered her mind before Ichigo answered her.

Ichigo had this strange smile on his face, somewhat of an evil sly smile. Ichigo pulled her closer and whispered something in her ears.

"We're going to a bar." Was all the devious educator said.

Rukia's face immediately lit up, she had expected something like this. She softly placed her forehead on his hard chest and said, "You're the devil."

-x-

The 30th of December. Not a very special date. People from around the world waited in anticipation for the day to end, it was natural. It was a cold night in Karakura that day. However, no wind had accompanied this cold weather, an empty coldness enveloped the town. An uncomfortable silence in the streets was frightening. Thirty minutes for the clock to strike midnight, it surely wasn't safe to walk alone. But nonetheless our hero was quietly prodding along the clean pavement. A scarf snuggly wrapped around his neck, a good cigarette in between his fingers, it couldn't have been better.

Ichigo let out one last sigh as the fog escaped his mouth, he pushed the door and entered the place he was called to. He was at the local pub, people here were usually merry but it wasn't a game night. He scanned the horizon and saw only a few customers and an old bartender. He went over to the ascended chairs and took his seat.

"What could I get you, sir?" asked an old man.

He was shriveled up, had dusty long white hair and a black moustache to express his longing youth. There was only dullness in his eyes, he had worked his entire life, earned his measly salary and went home with no questions. Ichigo could only sympathize, nothing more.

"What's your name old man?" Ichigo asked as looked into the old man's eyes.

"Ahh no one has ever asked me that boy, in all my years." He was astonished, "It is sad isn't it, so many years I've worked and no one has ever asked me my name."

As the man was about to continue he was halted by a playful act. Someone had put their hands on Ichigo's eyes to cut off his vision.

"Guess who?" said a childish voice.

"You're late" Ichigo said in a bored tone.

Ichigo removed the hands from his face and turned around to see a beautiful girl with hair akin to his own. He knew this girl very well.

"Why are you so sour Kurosaki kuun!" asked the girl.

"Orihime stop acting like a child and sit down." Ichigo said.

"Fine" Orihime said as she promptly sat down on Ichigo's lap.

Ichigo shrugged at this public display of affection, but it was a pub after all. He repositioned her to sit more comfortably.

"Yo get us two bloody mary's" Orihime ordered the bartender.

"Right away!" and with that the man fled to his store room to get the liquor.

Ichigo and Orihime were dating. They had gotten together two months ago. Ichigo never liked Orihime that way, until the night Orihime actually confessed her feelings towards Ichigo in college. Ichigo is the type of person that can never say "no" to a girl, and when this said girl had god given cleavage like hers, all men can understand Ichigo's dilemma. Still Ichigo looked at the bright side and prodded along with the relationship. He started to regret it though, he was about to take the initiative.

"Umm Orihime there was some-" before Ichigo could even finish his sentence Orihime had forced her toungue down his throat. The lustful kiss had lasted for a few seconds and then Orihime pulled back.

"What is it Kurosaki?" she asked in an annoyed tone.

"Nothing, it's not important" he said with a strained smile.

Ichigo could feel his soul being consumed by an entity such as Medussa. He felt strangled, forced. He simply did not have the heart to end it. He cursed himself in his mind for being such a wimp. He started thinking about Rukia, they could talk so freely. He was missing that. But these sweet thoughts were quickly erased when Orihime wiggled a little on his lap and Ichigo could feel his trousers getting tighter.

"Orihime you're crazy" Ichigo whispered to her.

"What do you say we go back to my place huh?" Orihime said in a very seductive tone.

"How could I say no?" Ichigo said with an idiotic smile.

They had finished their drinks in haste. Only enough to get a bit tipsy, but Orihime was still stone cold sober, God bless her.

Orihime grasped Ichigo's hand and went for the exit leaving the damp and dull bar.

"I forgot my wallet, wait here." Ichigo said as he went inside the pub again in search of his precious wallet which had no money inside of it.

He went to the drinking bar and scanned the entire area, and suddenly a man spoke up.

"Here's your wallet, sir." Said the familiar old man as he handed the wallet back to Ichigo.

"Thanks so much" Ichigo replied gratefully, " I'm Kurosaki Ichigo."

"What a wonderful name, sir" said the old man, " The one who protects" he finished with a chuckle.

"Now I would like to know yours." Ichigo finally said.

"My name is Zangetsu, sir" replied the old man.

"That's a strange name" Ichigo laughed.

-x-

A certain raven haired girl was looking over the view of Karakura in her balcony. A cold mist had fallen over the town, foggy weather with a slight breeze. She had dressed for the occasion, something she doesn't often do. A beautiful red dress her brother had gifted her on her recent seventeenth birthday, this was the first time she was wearing it. Three hours till midnight the small girl was anxiously looking at her phone from time to time, waiting for that special someone to ring her. She was all alone at her apartment, Byakuya obviously had plans of his own.

She was growing impatient and suddenly her phone beeped, looking at the screen her favourite name popped out. Trying not sound too excited she picked up the phone.

"Where are you?!" Rukia asked.  
"Should I pick you up? Or can you make it on your own?" Ichigo asked over the phone.

"Pick me up asshole! I don't know where your bar is!" Rukia yelled at the device.

"Alright jeez! I'm coming over, give me like twenty minutes." Ichigo said and he hung up the phone.

Rukia stared at her cell phone and said, " He could've said bye."

Rukia never really thought about what their current relationship was. They were just teacher and student who would hang out from time to time, nothing more. That was the harsh reality. She so badly wanted something more than that but it would endanger their current relationship which was already going so well. Even the thought of Ichigo rejecting her would send her into depression, there was really nothing she could do.

She wandered around their living room and she picked up a photo frame. It was a picture of her deceased sister.

"Looks like I'm getting drunk tonight nee-san" she said, " I'm really excited to know what it'll feel like."

She looked at the photo for a couple of minutes before a door bell interrupted her reminiscing.

"Ahh that must be Ichigo" She said to herself as she went over to the entrance.

She opened her door and when she did it took her breath away, the person certainly wasn't Ichigo. It was some she knew far too well.

"Renji? What're you doing here?" she asked curiously.

Renji looked as if he was possessed, he looked at the raven haired girl with great intent. It looked like it he was shaking, shaking with anger.

"Rukia! May I please know why you're not coming with us!" Renji barked at her.

"Renji please don't do this. You know I have other plans" Rukia said as she looked away from him.

With no hesitation Renji made his way inside the apartment and yelled at her again, "Don't ditch us to be with that stupid _teacher!_"

Rukia did not take the insult lightly and she retaliated, " First off, his not stupid. Second, I didn't ditch you guys, he asked first and that's just the way it is."

This clearly angered Renji even more. Everything he was bottling inside of him was about to erupt in the most ugliest of ways. How could Rukia never acknowledge the obvious love he felt for her. He had enough, he could not control himself any longer. He did something he would regret for the rest of his life, he pulled Rukia's hand and kissed her full on the mouth.

Rukia's eyes widened in utter shock, mid way through the forced kiss Rukia pushed him hard against the wall.

"Renji!" Ruikia yelled in confusion.

Renji wiped his lips and could feel the emotional cement clutching his throat.

"How could you be so stupid!" Renji yelled back, " I have fallen in love with you don't you get it!"

All Rukia could do was stare at him in utter bewilderment, she just could not comprehend what was happening.

"I have a long time ago, it's nothing to be that surprised about. We're childhood friends for God sake! And you leave me in the dust for some guy you barely know! I do love you and I don't think it's gonna change." Renji took a deep breath and continued.

"I will put aside my pride. Please just for this night come with us?" he said as stretched out a welcoming hand to Rukia.

"I'm sorry Renji. I cannot return your feelings. My heart belongs to another." Rukia said as tears fell from her pale cheeks. She looked away from him, she did not have the heart to look at him.

A spear had dug a painful hole in Renji's heart, it was suffocating. The sheer pain and hurt were far beyond imaginations. The depths of his inner self were being ripped apart, his mind went blank. He was crumbling.

But still the brave man put up a fake strained smile, never would you imagine a person's smile could look so sad.

"It's fine, Rukia." Renji said slowly, "I'll be okay."

And that was all he had to say. He turned back around hands in pocket and quietly left the premises. Rukia was left alone to ponder at her thoughts silently.

She sat their and closed her tear filled eyes, memories of her and Renji exploding in her mind. It was too overwhelming, he was a part of her life. And now he was gone. She couldn't handle it. She could only cry.

"I'm so sorry, Renji." She said to herself , "Please forgive me someday."

And with that the bell rang. Rukia jumped up in shock, she had totally forgot. She looked like she had just seen the Titanic, there was no way she could handle had just gone through a life changing event. She rubbed her eyes and went to the door.

She opened the door and was greeted by the man himself.

"Rukiaaaaa!" he cried out with a warm smile.

Rukia looked up at him with her puffy red eyes and slightly swollen lips and said, "You're here."

Ichigo immediately understood something was wrong . With a step forward he carefully place his hand on her cheek and felt the tear stains. He looked at her red eyes with concern and asked,

"What's wrong, Rukia?"

"It's nothing, really" she replied looking away from him.

Without any further warning Ichigo pulled Rukia closer and gave her a comforting hug, the sudden embrace electrified Rukia. Ichigo's mere fragrance had sent her crazy. She hugged him back holding onto the back of his shirt, pushing her face into his chest. The embrace was refreshing, cleansing all her worries away. That was the effect he had on her.

"I don't know what's wrong and it's fine if you don't wanna tell me, I'll still be here for you." Ichigo said as he patted her head.

Rukia didn't know what to do. She was still mesmerized, her pain for Renji was still there but her heart were feeling things they never felt before. Ichigo's warmth had cleansed her, it had rejuvenated her.

"Thank you" she whispered for no apparent reason.

A sudden phone call had interrupted them, Ichigo's phone was buzzing. With great reluctance he had let go of her and picked up the phone. Rukia stood there and watched like a child as Ichigo talked to the phone.

"Yeah were almost there Ishida, can you please get that pole out of your ass?!" Ichigo said in utter annoyance.

"Kurosaki I know you have lost a lot of brain cells in your lifetime but please atleast try to act like a civilized person, would you get here already! We're not going to save the drinks later!" Ishida bellowed as Sado watched him.

"I'M GONNA SKEWER YOU ALIVE!" Ichigo shouted and hung up the phone, "Rukia please come with me, you're gonna have a great time.

"Yeah lemme put on my heels" Rukia said.

They both descended from the elevator and when they went to the basement Rukia was stunned. A small blue Mitsubishi motorcycle was parked along their apartments parking lane.

"Yup that's my baby." Ichigo grinned at Rukia.

"Oh my god! I've never been on a motorcycle before, Ichigo!" Rukia said worriedly.

"Oh you haven't. Then you haven't lived your life to the fullest." Ichigo replied.

"What are you saying?" Rukia asked.

"just hold on tight, and don't worry at all" Ichigo said as he hopped on his miniature vehicle.

Rukia was a bit hesitant at first but she quietly prodded along and hopped on the passenger seat and tightly wrapped her arms around Ichigo's waist.

"Don't let go." Ichigo gave his final warning as he coolly put on his blue helmet.

He gave the gear a good old twist and the vicious engine growled in anger. The sheer pace at which the motorcycle flew off was unbelievable and all our poor raven haired girl could manage to say was,

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

-X-

A/N: PLEASE GUYS REVIEW IT MEANS A LOT TO ME! THEN I'LL KNOW IF I'M ACTUALLY DOING GOOD OR NOT. THANK YOU AND KEEP TUNED FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER.


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